The Keep on the Borderlands
by carlgluftgmail.com
Summary: The young fighter Decius writes his uncle about his adventures in and around the Caves of Chairs.
1. Chapter 1

My dear uncle Alexander,

I have left my hometown of Threshold in search of adventure. I have heard of the legendary Caves of Chaos, and am journeying to a keep, the towering gates of which are near those blighted caverns.

It was a long journey on foot. But after a few days I was delighted to see the jutting towers of that stronghold on the horizon.

The difficult rock trail through the mountains left me on the verge of exhaustion. I've never understood the phrase, "the longest mile is the last one,'' until that moment.

I was nearly upon the keep when I noticed a series of sinister altars along the path. They were unholy pagan things, and I quickly became concerned that my Immortal namesake Decius or the other holy ones of the Church of Thyatis may be unknown in the keep before me.

But fear will not delay the job I must do in those Caves of Chaos. Before I enter this keep, I'm sending this letter by way of the Raven you have me before you left for Specularum. You said any message entrusted to him would always reach you.

Your faithful nephew always,

Decius.


	2. Chapter 2

My dear uncle Alexander,

I was delighted to receive your letter today by way of the Raven. I've been here at the keep for a few days now. The first place I visited was the ornate Curate's Chapel where I gave thanks to my namesake Decius for the safe journey. I was quite relieved to see the Church of Thyatis established here. The Curate is a pious and pleasant fellow. He said the dark altars outside the keep were erected by orcs to intimidate the good people here. He also told me to avoid a travelling priest here, for he is suspicious of his orthodoxy.

The grandiose keep fortress is breathtaking! It's always how I envisioned a castle to be. I don't mean any offence to Baron Halaran's place back in Threshold. It's just that this keep is as beautiful as it is intimidating.

Usually one must accomplish a great service to the keep inorder to be let into the inner Bailey. But scarcely had I arrived and the Lord Castellan himself invited me to a feast. He wanted to know if I was the Decius of Threshold whose uncle was the Wizard Alexander. When I confirmed it and shared your last letter with him, he was elated After the feast, we talked late into the night about the Caves of Chaos. Indeed, he charged me with a quest to find the caves and report back. Imagine that! My first official quest.

The next morning, the Castellan sent me to the tool store. He arranged for me to be fully equipped for delving into those benighted caves. That man is the epitome of generosity.

I am writing this letter from the cozy tavern here. The barkeep have related to me hours worth of tales concerning the Caves of Chaos. The Castellan did forewarn me though that only half of the barkeep's stories are true. Tomorrow I set out in search of the caves. I will write you again at the soonest opportunity.

Your faithful nephew always,

Decius


	3. Chapter 3

My dear uncle Alexander,

My first day out from the keep was an adventurous one. Only a few hours into the day, I came upon an enormous, old oak tree. As I gazed into it's branches, I found myself face to face with a monsterous mountain lion!

As the beast pounced down upon me, I set my sword and ran it through. It scratched me pretty badly with its dagger-like claws. When I pulled my sword free, it was still alive. Frantically, I hit it with two slashes, and my foe was dead. Bleeding as I was, I followed some smoke that evening to an encampment. Unfortunately, it was not a friendly one. It was a bloody raider camp.

I was outnumbered twelve to one. Instantly, I eyed the leader. The quality of his armor, and the fat purse on his belt gave him away. Taking advantage of the suprise, I darted right into their camp, moving straight for their leader. I slashed him hard, and he reeled and nearly fell. The leader and his five closest men stabbed me with their spears. All went dark, but I would awaken in what must have been only seconds later. The talism you gave me for my eighteenth birthday was aglow and burning into my chest. With a sudden surge of energy, I rose to my feet and ran the raider leader through. The others stopped bij mid swing, saw their leader impaired on my sword, and ran in all directions. I was exhausted, but my wounds were all healed, thanks to your magic. Still, I spent about a week in that dark forest, living off of the wine and game they left behind.

I made my way to the streams and ponds of the nearby fens. I made a horrible mistake when I chose to rest upon a dry mound in the midst of that we place. I just wanted to dry off. But my rest was cut short by a lizard man emerging from a hole on the opposite side of where I sat. I had inadvertently chosen to rest on the Mound of the Lizard Men.

One by one, the Lizard Men crawled out from the tunnel. One by one, I hacked them down, until there were six dead lizard men at my feet. I found a beautiful necklace around one of the Lizard Men's neck. The others also had necklace, but these did not come closer to the first necklace. It was golden, and bejeweled. The others were just shrunken human skulls strung together. Needless to say, I left those. I'm quite exhausted, and am thinking I might go back to camp for a while to recuperate. I pray to the Immortal Decius this letter finds you well. I'll write again soon.

Your faithful nephew forever,

Decius


End file.
